Young local designers in fashion

THE spectacular Mackay Student Festival of Fashion was an exceptional Saturday night for Whitsunday's young student designers.

The Whitsunday students put in 23 entries and took out prizes in 10 of the Festival of Fashion's 12 categories.

Proserpine State High School student Nina Sinclair and Whitsunday Christian College student Naomi Wilson also brought home both of the Supreme Awards.

Students from 13 secondary schools participated in this Hollywood-themed event, which attracted 122 colourful and interesting secondary student entries.

Whitsunday Christian College student Naomi Wilson and Proserpine State High School Marissa Oliver got the ball rolling for the Whitsundays, winning both prizes in the Out-rage-us Wearable Art category (Years 8 to 10).

This was the biggest stage category of the Festival of Fashion with 17 entries.

Bronte Proctor (PSHS) then won the Mask category and Nina Wilson (WCC) was runner-up in the following Wearable Art category (Years 11 and 12).

In Pulp Fiction, the paper-only wearable art category, a special judges' collaborative award went to Bronte Proctor, Chelsea Jeffcoat and Georgia Jeffcoat (PSHS).

Bronte, Chelsea and Georgia then went on to be runners up in the Renew, Recycle and Reinvent category.

Whitsunday students continued on their winning way in the evening's serious fashion categories.

Nina Sinclair (PSHS) won the very competitive Street Wear category with her fashionable trio of designs.

Nina and Naomi Wilson (WCC) then took out the prize in the inaugural Contemporary Adornment category.

The final category – Red Carpet – was the evening's glamour category, and Year 9 WCC students Bobby Field and Cheyanne Kirby were runners up in a field of 14 entries, many from senior student designers.

There was even a Proserpine connection in the colourful Fashion Illustration category which was displayed in the foyer.

The winner of the Whitehouse Institute of Design scholarship prize was Lauren Stringini of St.

Mary Margaret's College in Townsville, whose Proserpine family inspired her to enter this special art category.